It's a girl thing
by si-star-x
Summary: Viola's wild ideas mean Duke has to be transformed into a girl. With Paul's help, will the plan succeed? Viola and Duke
1. Chapter 1

"You..." Duke began trailing kisses down her neck and across the smooth shoulders that followed, "You are beautiful."

"Duke, get off." Viola whined, raising her eyebrows and tentatively pushing his head away. Sure, she was more than a little appreciative of the compliment, but they were meant to be watching soccer. "Do you want to watch this," she motioned to the large screen, "or shall I turn it off so you can seduce me properly?"

He appeared to ponder on the thought for a minute or two before shrugging and leaning down to catch her mouth in his. "I can multi-task."

'"Duke!" The brunette girl exclaimed, pulling away and jerking her head to the side. "You're blocking the screen. There's only ten minutes left, okay?"

"But, Vi, you have to -" He was cut off by the commentators. A goal had just been scored against the seem he supported. "Damn!" He hissed, flopping back onto the sofa and folding his arms like a small child. "Remind me again why I enjoy this? My team seems to get thrashed every game."

"Well, they've actually not lost for five games," Viola corrected with an angelic facial expression, knowing all too well that he hates being corrected. "The answer for why you like it? I don't know really, but I _do_ know it's the only sport you can play, so..."

"The only sport I can play, huh?" The striker repeated, trying to think of another sport that he was good at. "I can play basketball!" He decided after a few minutes, looking pleased with himself.

"Duke, you told me the only reason you tried out for the soccer team was because the basketball coach hated you."

Before he could think of something to say in response, the on-screen crowd cheered loudly again. This time for a goal scored by Duke's team.

"Yes!" He yelled, fists going up in the air. "They're on equal ground now... 2-2 with only five minutes to go."

"The suspense is killing me," Viola said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. However much she loved playing soccer, she'd never love watching other people play the sport. Except if it's Duke playing, of course. Although... lately she has doubted whether she enjoys watching his matches for the actual game or for how positively hot he looks in the kit.

_Short shorts... yum. _She thought to herself, grinning wildly. Before she knew it, her visual fantasies had taken up the five minutes left of the game.

"A draw's better than a lose, I guess." Duke shrugged with a slight smile, not wanting to get too disappointed by a soccer match when he has a beautiful girl - a beatiful girlfriend - on the couch next to him.

Viola could feel his eyes scanning her face and she couldn't help but feel self-conscious. "What are you doing?" She complained, holding a cushion up against her face to block his view.

"I'm just admiring my girlfriend. Is that such a crime?" A soppy grin spread across his face. "You're so beautiful. I've told you that before, right?"

"Yes, Duke." She replied, "You've only told me twenty times so far today. Not that I'm not complimented by it, I am, but a girl only needs to be told once a day." She folded her arms at him then shrugged, "Maybe a few more times if she looks extra nice."

"You look extra, extra nice." He concluded, snaking his arms around her shoulders and pulling her close. "Hey, what time did you say your friend finishes work?"

"Oh, crap," her eyes darted to the clock. "Five-thirty."

"Do you think we should go now, then?" Duke suggested, knowing they only had two hours before that time. Granted, spending more time with Viola alone in his apartment did seem like a more appealing way to spend the rest of the afternoon, but they needed to go to the salon at some point.

"Yeah, we'd better. Paul sometimes even leaves earlier than that, so... we'd better run."

"We can take my motorcycle?" Duke suggested eagerly. In all the months they'd been dating, he'd never managed to get Viola to agree to riding on his bike.

"Definitely not." She waved him off, already up and slipping her shoes on. "It's only five blocks, we can walk."

"Five blocks?" He moaned, following after her sluggishly.

They arrived at the salon in good time, though Duke had complained the whole way about why they were walking when they could easily use other modes of transport. Viola had naturally told him to be quiet, as he was the one in need of Paul's assistance anyway.

"Viola!" The hairdresser shrieked, running over and embracing the smaller girl in a hug. "What're you doing here? Do you need a haircut? I have a free slot! We just got these new scissors in, and they're amazing! Absolutely wonderful, if you want to, I could -"

She cut him off after his ramblings became completely irrelevant. "I don't need my hair done today, Paul." She smiled, "Duke does need your help though."

"Hi, Duke." Paul greeted, doing a macho impression and thumping his chest before shaking Viola's boyfriend's hand. "Ow," He grimaced after thumping a little too hard. "Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"Well, remember when you made me into a guy?"

Paul nodded enthusiastically. "Thus being your indirect matchmaker? Of course!"

"Well, Ihave a proposisiton for you."

Duke just stood to the side with hands in his pockets, eyes never leaving the ground.

"You need to make Duke look like a girl."


	2. Chapter 2

Paul stood with hands on hips and eyebrows raised as he awaited further explanation. When none came, he prompted further. "Why does Duke want to be a girl?"

The guy in question chuckled nervously and scratched the side of his head. "I need to get somebody back."

"Do you have time to sit down?" Viola questioned, taking the male hairdresser's arm and pulling him over to the waiting area without waiting for an answer. "I think it'll be easier for Duke to just explain." She smiled at her boyfriend and patting his leg lovingly. "Take it from the top, baby."

_The single key glinted in the sunlight as it was thrown up and caught mid-air by a skilled hand. Quickly scanning the parking lot for where he'd left his bike, Duke almost automatically located the love of his life (second to Viola, of course. Or so he tells her...) He'd already packed the few items he'd just bought from the store into his bag, wasn't going to try to carry a carrier bag whilst riding again, it'd been a big enough mistake last time. _

"Are you going to get to the point, or what?" Paul complained, tapping his foot impatiently and looking at his watch. It was probably meant as a joke, but he _did_ have an appointment in less than thirty minutes that couldn't be missed.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Duke apologised, realising he was paying attention to relatively pointless details. "Anyway..."

_Before even getting five meters away from it, a slip of paper was evidently attached to the front mirror. Naturally, pace was sped up slightly when worry kicked in that somehow he'd earned himself a parking ticket. It wasn't a ticket, but it was something much worse._

_"Sorry about the scratch. We will take care of any damage. Call 07894963939"_

Paul interrupted again, this time by bursting out into a fit of giggles. "Who tells people when they scratch their paint work?!" He exclaimed in one breath.

Duke sent the rapidly ever-annoying guy a glare and carried on.

_The main question running through his mind wasn't to call the number, but to locate the scratch. If it was big and noticable he was going to kill the people who did it. Who cares about covering the cost? He liked the original paintwork! _

_Dropping the backpack containing the bottles of milk onto the ground, he really didn't care if the hot sun made them turn sour. They were for his Mom. She'd understand... probably. He bent down and started examining the usually perfect red finish for any signs of damage. There were a few moments where his breath hitched, but it was just dirt. After a few more minutes of no luck in finding anything, he decided to call the number. It was punched into his cell phone and at his ear within seconds._

_It rang at least four times before being picked up, and the voice on the other end was nothing like he'd expected. He'd expected it to be a frail old lady or a polite middle-aged woman who'd bumped into the bike with their shopping, or something of the sort. Instead it was a man on the over end. A man who didn't sound too happy at all._

_"Uh, hey," Duke said slowly, not quite sure of how to approach the situation. "I found your note on my bike."..."You didn't leave a note?"..."Yeah, but, I just found it..."..."Where? Uh, outside the mall."..."This isn't a prank!"..."No!"..."Look, I just found this note and called the number."..."It said you were going to cover the costs of a scratch you made."..."No, I can't see a scrach."..."Yes! I'm sure!"..."Um, ok."..."Sorry for troubling you."..."Ok."_

_By the time Duke had shut his cell phone, he was mortified. Somebody must have been playing a prank on him. Just as he was about to tear off the note and go home, he heard a voice._

_"Hey! Duke! Have fun with Mr.Magee?"_

_It was Andrew. _

"...that's why I need to dress up a girl." Duke finished with a nod. "Viola came up with an ingenius plan."

"Yes!" She agreed happily. "Duke can dress up as a girl, go on a date with Andy and completely dimish his pride. It's perfect!"

Paul didn't look convinced. "There are a few issues I have with your plan." He held his hand up and began couting on the fingers. "One: Duke is the most manly looking man I've ever seen. He'll never make an attractive girl. Two: remember my date from the drama club? Well, we're no longer dating, so I don't have access to the same supplies as I had before. Finally, three: why can't you just play a practical joke on him back? Put eggs in his bed or something."

"Eggs could be good..." Viola agreed, nodding her head.

"No eggs." Duke said decisively, "I've already done that..." he added under his breath.

Paul shrugged. "Okay then, what the hell. I'll do it. Come to my apartment tomorrow evening?"

The two nodded in unison and smiled almost at the same time too.


	3. Chapter 3

"You don't think I'm going to have to wear a dress, do you?" Duke asked Viola as she went in for another slice of pizza. It was almost 8 o'clock and the pair had been back at his apartment for an hour or two. They were both pretty hungry, so ordered a pizza and were currently in the middle of consuming it.

"With legs like yours?" She replied, not particularly caring that her mouth was full, "No way. I won't even permit it."

Duke laughed and shook his head. "There isn't anything wrong with my legs."

"No, no." She back-tracked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "You have amazing legs for a guy. If I had those legs, on the other hand..." Her eyes drifted to his lower limbs and she reached down to pull the jeans up slightly to expose a patch of hair. "Ew."

"I'd still love you if you had legs like mine." He assured her, picking up a slice of pizza for himself and taking a mouthful.

Viola raised her eyebrows and chuckled. "Don't you think mine are fine as they are?" She faked a pout and batted her eyelids, but was unable to keep the pose for long without breaking into a smile.

"I love every part of you, and you know it." He told her with a smile, eyes never raising from the piece of pizza he was holding.

She never felt like this around Justin, she always seemed to be pretending around him and doing things his way. All they used to talk about was soccer. With Duke it's just a common interest, it's not the ruling factor in their relationship. Duke was even fantastically nice to her around his friends. He'd invited her to Toby's birthday party a few weeks ago and he hadn't left her side once, even when the guys made a few digs at him. Just thinking about how amazing she had been feeling lately made her smile, though she quickly snapped out of it as Duke began speaking again.

"Do you still think this is is a good idea?" He asked tentatively. He liked the idea, thought it would totally work, but wasn't completely sure about whether he could pull off looking like a genuine girl. He could probably pull off male drag queen with ease, but it'd be hard to convince his friend.

"Of course it's a good idea!" Viola exclaimed, her eyes opening wide. "It's a great idea. It'll be so funny. Andy will never be able to top it." She was still nodding persuasively. She _did _think it would be a good and fully operational idea, but she also knew it'd be funny as all hell to see Duke going through the transisition from manlihood to being a woman, and then to see the final result. "You're going to make a gorgeous girl." She added, tilting her head and reaching across the table to hold his hand.

Duke nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I mean, your friend did a good enough job on you. I really thought you were a guy."

"I learnt some kick ass mannerisms too." She explained, "Remember that little secret hand shake-slash body-slam thing I did when we first met? I made that up myself."

"Admittedly, that kind of creeped me out." Duke admitted, shuddering at the thought. "Remember at this point I thought you were a geeky transfer student."

"Geeky?!" Viola gasped in mock-hurt. "I wasn't a geek. I was a hunky dude. Admit it."

"You _were _always a little on the feminine side..." Duke continued, touching his chin as though in thought. "I can't believe I fell for it..."

"You're just jealous that I got more babes after a week as a guy than you got in your entire life."

"Olivia was the only one who genuinely liked you..." He said with slightly raised eyebrows. "I've had more than one girlfriend."

"Olivia counts as ten as she's so stunning." Viola nodded, still clutching her boyfriend's hand. "And more than one girlfriend?! I thought you were my first."

"Not the first..." Duke said slowly, his gaze meeting her's, "But definitely the best."


	4. Chapter 4

The whole next day at school, Duke barely managed to keep his conversations with Andrew civil. He really wanted to yell at the guy for playing such an annoying trick on him, but managed to keep his composure when he had apologised genuinely and asked if they could call it truce. Duke had nodded and shook his hand, but he wasn't going to call it truce. His one last trick could be the truce. If there had actually been even so much as a small scratch on his paintwork, he would have gone crazy. It's quite silly how much precaution he goes through in everyday life to prevent such incidents, but he'd worked so hard to save up the money for that bike. He wasn't going to make anymore bills, as his bank balance was pretty much wiped clean. He had enough to pay for insurance and maintenence, but painting over scratches _wasn't _maintenence.

The day was also spent practically staring at every girl in the school. The general reaction was either a smile, a wave or a glare. For some reason the majority were glares - probably because he wasn't looking at them in a romantic way, he was just studying them. That and they knew he was dating Viola anyway. From the look of the ladies, knew there was no way on earth he'd be able to pull off looking like some of the attractive girls. They all had soft features and slim bodies, which he was far from having. The width of his own torso was almost twice the size of Viola's and maybe even more than that compared to some of the cheerleaders. Needless to say, hardly any work got done in any of his classes, but that was only a minor issue. He'd catch back up soon enough.

The highlight of his day was a random text from Viola saying "_I miss you"_, which made his heart skip a beat. She often sent him pictures of herself and short, to the point text messages. He loved that about her - she was always so spontaneous and always knew what he wanted to hear. He did it to her sometimes too, but it was usually just in response. It was still a struggle sometimes to get the loving boyfriend thing down to an art. Viola just found it cute.

They weren't meeting Paul until past seven, so Duke decided to log onto his computer and see if he could find any... information... on guys effectively dressing as girls. He knew he'd find stuff, not from personal experience but just from the knowledge that crossdressers and drag queens aren't really a minority anymore.

He typed in 'Crossdressing tips' into a search engine and waited a few minutes for results to be returned. Skimming down the list, he skipped past a few suggested pages and ended up clicking on a link to a website containing pictures. If nothing else, it would provide him with some amusement. Hopefully nobody would ever look at his search history.

It actually suprised him how much like women some of these guys looked, he even doubted a few of them, thinking somebody had sent in a picture of a genuine girl as a joke. After thinking "they actually look kind of cute" on a number of these pictures, Duke practically kicked himself. These were guys - some of them probably even gay. He paused to shudder, but didn't stop looking. Along with the people pulling off the look, there were also those who looked ridiculous. How any of these people could ever pass for a woman, he had no idea. It was likely that he'd fall into this catagory.

He pressed 'back' a couple of times after a few more minutes to get back to his oringal search page. From here, he clicked on another link that was said to contain just basic information on crossdressing.

Tips on Makeup

Tips on Passing

Tips on Appearance

Tips on stuff to have in your Purse

Tips on Weight Control

Bathroom Basics for Crossdressers

Instead of clicking on any of the website's pages, Duke just decided that he'd wait for Paul's advice. Hopefully it didn't involve tips on weight control _or _carrying a purse.


	5. Chapter 5

Duke had complained non-stop on the journey to Paul's house, and to be honest, Viola could fully sympathise with him. It was a very daunting becoming a guy, but she made it work. She actually felt like a guy for those weeks she wore a wig. If it wasn't for still having breasts and having nothing but a pair of socks in her jeans, of course.

There was no denying that this was a great plan though, and if they could pull it off it would be totally cool. Duke had been adamant that he would not be using a ladies toilet or carry a clutch bag, but Viola had easily convinced him in stating it was either the bag or they force him to wear heels. That wasn't going to happen. Duke really didn't need a broken ankle, and getting revenge on Andy certainly wouldn't be worth physical injury.

As Duke finally stood in front of Paul, she tightly gripped his hand as if to protect him from the scrutinising gaze. It felt like they were in the final of American Idol, waiting for the verdict on who would be the winner.

"I've been thinking," Paul began, twirling a comb around his fingers, "and…"

"This isn't going to work." Both Paul and Duke spoke in unison, each offering a shake of the head.

"What?" Viola shrieked, dropping Duke's hand instantly. "Of course it'll work! You made me look so _awesome_ as a guy! You can do it again, Paul. Don't give up on your ability. It's a gift, a true gift!"

"Be quiet, Vi." Paul raised his eyebrows and held his arms across his chest. "Duke is…"

"Gorgeous?" Viola offered, her eyes glazing over with affection.

"He is certainly a good looking man."

Duke liked compliments off his girl, but that was a little too creepy.

Paul noticed the switch in Duke's expression and smiled, rolling his eyes. It was too much fun and far, far too easy to make him feel awkward.

"Anyway," The hairdresser continued, "My point is, he's too much of a _guy_."

Paul stepped forward and pushed Viola to the side. He pulled out a tape measure and began circling the guy in question. He wrapped the tape around Duke's chest and then did the same for his waist. He placed his hands in clenched fists over the guy's chest, almost as if pretending they were breasts.

"Look at these muscles, Viola." Paul shook his head, wrapping an arm around Duke's bicep. "Do you know any girls with muscles like this?"

"Um," Duke pulled away instantly. "OK."

Viola watched the pair in amusement, knowing that Duke really didn't approve of other guys touching him.

"Not to mention his face!" Paul shook his head in disbelief. "Look at that jaw. Do you know any girls with jaws like that?"

"Yes!" Viola offered, raising her hand although it was completely unnecessary. "Do you remember that one girl? She was on the football team…"

"….and they made her have tests to check she was actually a girl, Viola. Do you remember that part?"

Viola shrugged, laughing softly at remembering the incident.

"We're supposed to make a guy actually like this 'woman'." Paul motioned to Duke and shook his head, folding his arms again. "It's not going to happen."

"But… but…" Viola fought for words. "You did it to me!"

"You're pretty. You made a pretty guy. That works. Handsome guys cannot make pretty women. Handsome guys, such as Duke here…"

Duke didn't really like Paul calling him handsome.

Paul noticed the roll of Duke's eyes, but he continued regardless. "Handsome guys such as Duke," He made a point of staring at him, "make _ugly _women."

"Ugly?" Duke scoffed.

"Handsome guys make manly women. It just doesn't work."

"But that was our plan!" Viola exclaimed, pouting softly. "Are you sure you can't do something? I was thinking cinching his waist with a corset, perhaps a wig that kind of covers his whole face and just leaves his eyes uncovered?"

Duke raised his eyebrows at Viola, wondering to what extent she had actually been thinking about this.

"I don't know, Vi…" Paul shook his head. "I think your idea was just a little too extreme this time. We could think of something else to do. We could make you into a guy again and you could convince this Andy guy that you're his long-lost brother?"

"Andrew knows her now." Duke shook his head. "Actually, Paul, I quite like the idea of thinking of another plan, let's work with tha- OW!" He yelped as Viola punched her fist into his arm.

"Duke," Viola spoke, adopting an innocent expression, "Are you saying you don't like my plan?"

"Viola…" Duke whined, not appreciating being guilt-tripped, or punched, for that matter, "Your plan was good."

"But completely unachievable." Paul agreed. "What are you thinking, Duke? Shall we just pretend his car has gone to the impound?"

Duke grinned, nodding his head, "We could do that."

"Or we could go with the original plan." Viola shrugged, reaching over to one of Paul's mannequins and grabbing a long blonde wig. "Look, guys, this is going to be…"

She jumped to reach Duke's head and literally threw the wig on him. It didn't sit right and it looked absolutely ridiculous.

Paul burst out in laughter, and once Duke caught sight of his new 'look' in the mirror, he pulled the fake hair off and threw it at Viola.

"Okay. Perhaps you're not destined to be blonde!" She suggested; catching the wig and placing it back onto the bald mannequin head.

"I'm not destined to be a woman." Duke shook his head.

"We'll think of something." Paul nodded.

"Let's just try the corset, Paul," Viola insisted, "It'll seal the deal."

Both guys just sighed as she began to dig through a box of women's clothing that Paul had somehow managed to procure.

As she pulled out a glittery, sequined corset, the two men couldn't help but grimace.


End file.
